The main components in diaper pants are usually an absorption core which is arranged between two cover sheets, one of which is a liquid barrier sheet, for example a plastic film, and the other a liquid-permeable cover sheet, for example a nonwoven sheet. Further components, such as inner barriers, for example raised edge barriers, arranged in connection with the liquid-permeable cover sheet, or textile-like outer covers arranged outside the liquid barrier sheet can also be present. The absorbent pants are designed with a front portion which, during use, is directed forwards on the user and lies across the latter's groin area, a rear portion which, during use, is directed rearwards on the user and lies across the latter's buttocks, and a crotch portion which is arranged between the front portion and the rear portion and is intended to be positioned at the user's crotch. The front portion, the rear portion and the crotch portion together form absorbent pants or briefs with two leg openings and a waist opening. The absorption core is usually arranged substantially centrally between the leg openings and extends at least over the crotch portion. The portions of the absorbent pants which, during use, are arranged across the user's hips are generally free from absorption material. These portions consist, for example, of parts of one or both of the cover sheets, of a separate outer cover, or of separate material pieces usually called side panels.
In order to ensure that the absorbent pants will fit a user's body shape and body size like an article of clothing, and in order to form closure seals preventing leakage around the leg openings and the waist openings, the absorbent pants are generally also provided with elastic members in the form of elastic threads or bands. The elastic threads and bands are generally secured, in a continuous process and in the stretched state, to one or more components of the absorbent pants, generally to at least one cover sheet. By means of securing stretched elastic members, for example to a cover sheet, it is possible also to give a nonelastic material sheet elastic properties. The elastic members are kept stretched during production of the known diaper pants. When the individual diaper pants are cut out from a continuous production web, the stretching of the elastic members ceases and they are able to gather together into their unstretched state. In doing so, the components secured to the elastic members are also gathered together. This means that the finished absorbent pants have a creased appearance, at least in the areas around the elastic members. In addition, the elastic members give the absorbent pants a three-dimensional form which makes them difficult to fold and package.
In order to achieve a good fit of the known diaper pants and to allow the diaper pants to be used by persons with different body shapes and body sizes, the diaper pants are often provided with a large number of elastic members which run parallel across the front and rear portions of the absorbent pants. Although such an arrangement functions fairly well from the technical point of view, the many elastic members give the known diaper pants a particularly creased and baggy appearance. This is a negative factor for various reasons. The greatest disadvantage is that it is difficult to conceal diaper pants of this kind under normal clothes, which can be very embarrassing, especially for adult users of diaper pants. The creased appearance also strengthens the immediate impression that the absorbent article is in fact a diaper, which is perceived as a negative factor by adult incontinence sufferers. It is therefore desirable to produce diaper pants which are perceived and appear more as underpants than as a diaper. Another disadvantage of using the creased diaper pants is that folds and creases can cause discomfort in the form of chafing and irritation of the user's skin.
A way of achieving an improved fit and of avoiding the use of a large number of stretched elastic members is to make the side panels of diaper pants from elastic material, for example elastic nonwoven, or elastic laminate. However, the main problem of the diaper pants with elastic side panels which have hitherto been proposed is that they are complicated to produce because they necessitate the handling of separate elastic material pieces at high production speeds. Moreover, with elastic side panels, it is possible only to obtain limited size fit and shape fit of the diaper pants because large parts of the front portion and rear portion of the absorbent pants remain nonelastic.
There is therefore a great need for absorbent diaper pants which are comfortable to wear, sit securely in place and can be concealed under normal clothes.